Reject brine management: Denitrification and zero liquid discharge (ZLD)—Current status, challenges and future prospects

Nicolás, Amanda Prado de; Molina‐García, Ángel; García, Juan Pascual; Vera-García, F.

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135124

Cited by 23 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…The results presented and discussed in the previous section ( Figure 12 ) showed that the PTFE capillary membranes were not wetted by the solution with the NaCl concentration of 300 g/L. This noteworthy observation indicates the possibility of obtaining very high water recovery rates in the MD process and the possibility of implementing zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technology [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Wettability Studies of Capillary PTFE Membranes Applied for Membrane Distillation

Woźniak

Gryta²

2023

Membranes

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In the present study, the membrane distillation (MD) process was studied with the use of commercial polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) capillary membranes. For this purpose, both solutions with NaCl concentrations up to 300 g/L and brines contaminated with oil (70–120 mg/L) were used as feeds. The membrane’s wetting resistance was tested by conducting long-term experiments for over 3500 h. Using detailed studies, it has been shown that increasing the salt concentration from 35 to 300 g/L resulted in a 50% reduction in the permeate flux. Nevertheless, the membranes retained 100% of the salt rejection after 2000 h of the module’s operation. Moreover, it has been found that performing the MD process with brines contaminated with oil (120 mg/L) led to the wetting of some membranes pores, which it turn resulted in an increase in the distillate’s conductivity to 450 µS/cm after 700 h running the process. The mechanism of pore wetting by oil droplets adsorbed on the membrane’s surface was presented. Finally, the proposed method of membrane cleaning with the use of a solvent allowed restoring the initial MD module’s performance. Consequently, both the permeate flux and distillate conductivity were stable during the MD of the feed containing 35 g/L of NaCl over the next 280 h.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Wettability Studies of Capillary PTFE Membranes Applied for Membrane Distillation

Woźniak

Gryta²

2023

Membranes

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“…The subsequent brine with high salinity cannot be fed into the membrane equipment, the evaporation being then considered a feasible way to increase freshwater recovery. Comprehensive contributions in the specific literature about desalination and brine treatment were studied to gain a comparative insight between emerging and traditional technologies, and further information can be found in [12,30,32,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42].…”

Section: Mvc System Description: Instrumentation and Functional Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data-Monitoring Solution for Desalination Processes: Cooling Tower and Mechanical Vapor Compression Hybrid System

Hernández-Baño,

Molina-García,

Vera-García

2024

Sensors

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The advancement of novel water treatment technologies requires the implementation of both accurate data measurement and recording processes. These procedures are essential for acquiring results and conducting thorough analyses to enhance operational efficiency. In addition, accurate sensor data facilitate precise control over chemical treatment dosages, ensuring optimal water quality and corrosion inhibition while minimizing chemical usage and associated costs. Under this framework, this paper describes the sensoring and monitoring solution for a hybrid system based on a cooling tower (CT) connected to mechanical vapor compression (MVC) equipment for desalination and brine concentration purposes. Sensors connected to the data commercial logger solution, Almemo 2890-9, are also discussed in detail such as temperature, relative humidity, pressure, flow rate, etc. The monitoring system allows remote control of the MVC based on a server, GateManager, and TightVNC. In this way, the proposed solution provides remote access to the hybrid system, being able to visualize gathered data in real time. A case study located in Cartagena (Spain) is used to assess the proposed solution. Collected data from temperature transmitters, pneumatic valves, level sensors, and power demand are included and discussed in the paper. These variables allow a subsequent forecasting process to estimate brine concentration values. Different sample times are included in this paper to minimize the collected data from the hybrid system within suitable operation conditions. This solution is suitable to be applied to other desalination processes and locations.

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“…This would increase the overall sustainability of freshwater production in rural areas, where access to centralized energy infrastructure is limited 53,54 , such as in the case of the tidal saline region of The Gambia River. The concentrate produced during the desalination process, however, remains a challenge that necessitates a minimal or zero liquid discharge strategy 55 .…”

Section: Desalination and Water Reuse In The Gambia Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking water resources: Harnessing The Gambia River with pressure-driven membrane processes for sustainable supply

Boussouga,

Lin,

Schmidt

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The Gambia River is a tidal and tropical river that covers 12% of the area of The Gambia and is to date not harnessed for drinking water supply purposes. While the freshwater region of the river is mainly used for irrigation, groundwater wells are predominantly used for drinking water. Salinity intrusion and wastewater treatment requirements are challenging current practices. Previous investigation on water quality indicated that the upper regions, with permanent and pristine freshwater, would be well suited for drinking water supply after ultrafiltration (UF) treatment. At 120 km from the river mouth to the coast, where the water becomes saline, desalination is required. With sea level rise, this saline region is expanding further inland, requiring increasingly energy-intensive treatments such as nanofiltration/reverse osmosis (NF/RO), while also affecting groundwater quality. In the urban area near the river mouth, there is potential for water reuse to increase water availability, while addressing the increasing load of micropollutants from the discharged wastewater effluents. UF could decrease the turbidity to ≤0.5 NTU with partial removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). During UF operation at controlled flux, an increase in transmembrane pressure was observed, attributed to fouling caused by the high turbidity (up to 140 NTU) of the water samples from the freshwater region. Dense NF/RO membranes removed salinity and achieved the WHO recommended guideline for drinking water (< 1 g/L as TDS) in the tidal regions with salinities up to 4 g/L during the beginning of the dry season between Tendaba and Jasobo at 100-120 km from the river mouth. The more open NF membrane could treat salinities in the tidal regions below 2 g/L at 100-110 km from the river mouth. Micropollutants (MP), with a total concentration of up to 26.3 µg/L for pesticides, 38.4 µg/L for pharmaceuticals, and 2.1 µg/L for hormones, were found in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent discharged 500 m near the ocean. This led to water quality degradation of the nearby stream, connected to The Gambia River, in which most of the MP concentrations were surpassing surface water quality standards. NF/RO membranes were able to remove most of the MP to concentrations below the surface water guidelines. With an appropriate pretreatment to mitigate fouling, and thus reduce energy consumption and process overall cost, NF/RO technology is well suited for water supply from desalination of the tidal region of The Gambia River and municipal water reuse for non-potable purposes, such as irrigation. The quality requirements will depend on membrane selection and water salinity. The findings of this research on desalination and water reuse can be extended beyond the local context and can contribute to addressing similar challenges in other countries worldwide

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Reject brine management: Denitrification and zero liquid discharge (ZLD)—Current status, challenges and future prospects

Cited by 23 publications

References 138 publications

Wettability Studies of Capillary PTFE Membranes Applied for Membrane Distillation

Wettability Studies of Capillary PTFE Membranes Applied for Membrane Distillation

Data-Monitoring Solution for Desalination Processes: Cooling Tower and Mechanical Vapor Compression Hybrid System

Rethinking water resources: Harnessing The Gambia River with pressure-driven membrane processes for sustainable supply

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